Tale as Old as Time
by flowerpower71
Summary: Inspired by a picture of the same name on DeviantART. An alternate scene after the dance. WARNING! Dark and very angsty! Rated T for slight bloodshed.


**Hey everyone! Ok so this one shot was inspired by this amazing pic on DeviantART drawn by jessmaki. **

**This is an alternate scene from the movie. Very very angsty and dark...actually this is probably one of the more darker fics that I have written. XD**

**But anyway enjoy this story nonetheless. And seriously checkout the pic that inspired this story. It's awesome.**

**Beauty and the Beast belongs to Disney I won NOTHING!**

**Enjoy!**

**P.S. I apologize if any one is ooc. It's been a while since I've seen the movie. T_T**

"Hohoho! We did it mon ami's! We've done it!" Lumiere exclaimed. "At this rate, we'll be human again by tomorrow!"

For the past couple of months, ever since Belle had arrived, the humans turned household objects had been hoping that she was the one to fall in love with the beast and break the curse that was held upon them for all those years. And tonight they had witnessed first hand the way that the maiden and the beast were looking at each other as they danced. It was love.

Cogsworth chuckled. "I never thought I'd say this, but Lumiere, I believe you are right."

"Oh this is all so lovely." Mrs. Potts sighed as the teapot, the clock, and the candelabra hopped down one of the castle's many, many hallways. It was late at night, close to midnight to be exact and the majority of the castle's residents had fallen asleep.

The candelabra stretched his arms and let out a yawn. "Well my friends, I suppose we-"

"Shoosh! Shoosh! Shoosh!" Cogsworth hushed placing a hand over Lumiere's mouth. "Do you hear something?"

All three objects fell silent as they listened. Suddenly there it was again. The noise was soft and slightly muffled but one could distinctly tell that someone was crying.

Cogsworth, Lumiere, and Mrs. Potts all looked towards one another with worried expressions. They remained silent as they followed the crying sounds to it's source. The three paused in front of a door and listened. Yep, the crying was definitely coming from inside. The three former humans pushed against the door, peeked in and were shocked to see-

"Belle?"

Said brunette immediately stopped her quite crying and looked up. Her chocolate brown eyes were red and puffy, tear marks stained her rosy cheeks, her long brown hair which had been previously tied up in a neat bun, was now falling all around her head.

"Mon deu!" Lumiere exclaimed as he and the other two rushed in. "What happened to you ma cherie?"

Belle sniffled a little and shook her head. "I-I don't want to talk about it." she said in a broken voice.

"Miss Belle something has obviously happened." Cogsworth stated as he, Mrs. Potts and Lumiere climbed up on a nearby table. Now being higher up they were able to notice that the back of Belle's dress had been ripped apart. They couldn't see her back but the way the dress was falling in the back and poking out the sides they could tell.

"Oh now now. Shh! Shh! It's alright child." the British teapot tried to sooth. "What on earth happened?"

Bell didn't want to tell but she knew that these three were some of the most stubborn non humans she had ever met. They were also the three closest's friends she had made since her imprisonment. She looked into each of their faces: Mrs. Potts had a worried motherly expression on her ceramic face. The same type that any mother would wear if one of their children was hurting. Cogsworth, though normally proper and to the T; frowned at her and his eyes held worry. Lumiere was looking at her with a very worried expression which if Bell had not been in pain, she would have taken more note of since it was unusual for the French candle to express anything other than charm and be flirtacious.

Bell felt her bottom lip quiver and more tears spilled from her eyes as she looked away. Then in a voice barely above a whisper she answered their question.

"The beast."

The former humans felt their breath leave their bodies as the girl uttered the words they were afraid of hearing.

"Wh-wh-what?!" Cogsworth stuttered.

Belle didn't answer but slowly rose to her feet. She sniffled a little and then turned her back to them. Lumiere held up one of his candle's so they all could see and they all let out a horrified gasp at what they saw.

Belle's dress indeed was ripped. Her back completely exposed and showing part of her purple corset. That wasn't what they had gasped at though. What they were horrified by was the three claw marks that dug into her back oozing with blood.

Mrs. Potts couldn't take the sight and had to look away, Cogsworth put his hands to his face and Lumiere leaned in a little closer not believing what he was seeing.

The room was dead silent for a few moments with only the sound of Bell's soft sniffling to be heard, until Cogsworth found his voice.

"H-how...Wh-why did he...How could he..." the clock stuttered.

Bell blinked and let another tear roll down her face.

"A-After the dance, the beast led me out on the balcony. He-he noticed I seemed distracted so...so I told him about how I w-was worried about my f-father. He showed me Papa's image in the magic mirror." the yellow clad woman paused to catch her breath and hold back more sobs. "P-Papa's very sick and needs my help...S-So I asked the beast if I could go to him."

Belle didn't need to say anymore. They already knew.

"So…...he attacked you?" Lumiere asked. Belle nodded slowly wiping away more tears.

"He-he grabbed me and I tried to run...But as I tried to pull away he scratched me." Belle choked out another sob. "My p-poor Poppa! He's out their all alone! He's sick! He-he might be..." Belle couldn't finish her sentence before her sobs over took her.

Mrs. Potts hopped closer to her and shooshed her once more though she herself was a little distraught. She had know the beast since he was a child. Never in her wildest dreams would she have EVER thought that he could be capable of physically hurting someone.

"Where's the Master now?" Cogsworth asked rubbing his hands nervously.

"I-I don't know." Belle whispered.

"Come along love, let's get you cleaned up." Mrs. Potts said as he lead the girl out of the room. Lumiere and Cogsworth looked at each other with complete and utter sadness and dispair.

Not only were they upset about their plan ultimately failing, or the fact that they might not become human after all, but instead what they were most heartbroken about was the fact that their friend had gotten hurt, both physically and emotionally. But they were most heartbroken over the fact that the Master, the one they had known since he was a young child, had truly grown up to become a beast.

**AN: Yeah like I said, this is one of the more darker stories that I have written. O.O**

**Anyway I'm ending this story here and shall leave it up to the reader's imagination to decide what happens next; though if it's any consolation Maurice does NOT die. (in my aftermath anyway)**

**But who knows if I get enough good feedback asking to continue I might write up another quick chapter and make this a two parter story instead of just a one shot but for now this is the end.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this oneshot even if it is sad. And don't forget to check out the picture that inspired this whole story in the first place. To do that go to DevainyART .com and type in jessmaki in the search bar, go to her account and you should find it.**

**Anyway please leave a review. Have a good day. Bye everyone.**


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